The Center for Black Literature (CBL) was established at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York in 2002 by Dr. Brenda Greene, who was Chair of the Department of Literature, Languages and Philosophy at Medgar Evers at the time. The Center’s mission is to expand, broaden, and enrich the public’s knowledge and appreciation of Black literature by people of the African Diaspora and of the African continent.
The CBL’s official opening in May 2002 was a tribute to the late scholar, poet, and writer Calvin Coolidge Hernton. Actor, director, and educator Avery Brooks served as host, with many notable figures, including Sonia Sanchez, Ishmael Reed, Eugene Redmond, Elaine Brown, and Haki Madhubuti, attending to honor Hernton and to celebrate the launch of the Center.
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The Center has developed numerous outstanding programs over its 20-plus-year history. The foremost is the National Black Writers Conference (NBWC) and the Biennial Symposium. Originally established in 1986 by renowned author and activist John Oliver Killens, who had been a writer-in-residence and professor at Medgar Evers College from 1981-1987, the NBWC continued to be convened after Killens’s passing in 1987. Dr. Elizabeth Nunez, who had been the Conference Coordinator with Killens, became the Director for the conferences in 1988, 1991, 1996, and 2000. Dr. Brenda Greene assumed the role of Director for the 2003 NBWC, titled “Literature as Access: Connecting to Our Selves, Our Communities, Our Histories.” The Center continues to develop conferences and symposia that are timely, scholarly, informative, and entertaining.
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To further accomplish its mission, the Center for Black Literature offers other programs that are designed to build a multigenerational audience for reading, discussing, and analyzing Black Literature. These programs include the Re-Envisioning Our Lives Through Literature (ROLL) Youth Program; Dr. Edith Rock Writing Workshop for Elders; Fiction Writing Workshop; Wild Seeds Retreat for Writers of Color; John Oliver Killens Reading Series; and the CBL Monthly Book Club. Dr. Brenda Greene also hosts the Writers on Writing (WOW) radio and YouTube series.
The Center for Black Literature celebrated its longevity in 2022 with a joyous 20th Anniversary Jubilee at Medgar Evers College. Poet, activist, and lifetime supporter Sonia Sanchez was the Honorary Chair. The honorees were Cheryl Wills, Emmy Award-winning journalist for Spectrum News NY1, and Troy D. Johnson, founder of the African American Literature Book Club (AALBC).
